Finland’s Sanna Marin cleared of misconduct over dance video

Critics had accused the prime minister of irresponsible behavior for partying with friends and consuming alcohol.

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin did not neglect her duties as prime minister, an official inquiry found after investigating a leaked party video showing her dancing with friends in August.

In the aftermath of the release of the video showing Marin dancing exuberantly, the Finnish leader came in for criticism. She was forced to take a drug test to clear up any suspicion, after comments heard on the video referring to narcotics. The test came back negative in August.

Finland’s chancellor of justice, Tuomas Pöysti, responsible for lawsuits against the government, said Friday that there is ”no reason to suspect PM of unlawful conduct or of neglect of her official duties.”

He added that the “moral and social” dimension of a prime minister’s leisure activities is “a matter for parliament” and “political accountability is also weighed periodically in democratic elections.”

Pöysti had received several complaints about the matter as critics accused Marin of irresponsible behavior and alleged that she was unfit to work “due to alcohol consumption.”

Others saw the dancing footage as a popularity boost for the the 36-year-old prime minister with women around the world posting dancing videos tagging themselves with a #SolidaritywithSanna hashtag.
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